Determination of Facial References for Esthetic Restorative Treatment

Although it is generally accepted that a prosthetic restoration must take into account the gingiva, smile, and patient's face, it is often difficult to determine precisely what facial references must be considered. The purpose of this study was to determine the correct vertical and horizontal facial reference planes in esthetic prosthetic treatment. Using photographic analysis of 160 individuals, the different facial reference planes (interpupillary, intermeatic, intercommissural, and incisal edge lines; facial midline; and Camper and Frankfort planes) were compared to the ideal prosthetic reconstruction axis. Additional measurements, including the human eye's ability to perceive parallelism, were recorded. Most participants (64%) exhibited facial asymmetry. Asymmetry was horizontal (difference between widths of the right and left sides; 52.4%), vertical (difference between heights of the right and left sides; 6.9%), or mixed (4.7%). The interpupillary line is the main horizontal reference in 88.4% of situations, with the intercommissural line the second most important. In the profile view, the horizontal plane was on average 6.5 degrees above the Camper plane and 9 degrees below the Frankfort plane. The human eye's ability to perceive parallelism between two lines was found to be limited to differences of approximately 1 degree. During anterior tooth reconstruction, it is necessary to take into account the right horizontal and vertical esthetic references. Knowledge of the biometric facial parameters in natural dentition is necessary to define the right reconstruction axes based on the facial symmetry or asymmetry.